


The Prince and the Sorcerer

by Broken_Hearts_Shattered_Dreams



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Completely AU, M/M, Merthur - Freeform, Sort of Dark!Merlin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-29
Updated: 2015-12-10
Packaged: 2018-05-03 23:29:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5311199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Broken_Hearts_Shattered_Dreams/pseuds/Broken_Hearts_Shattered_Dreams
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin is an immortal creature of magic. Captured by Uther’s father, he resides in a lonely cell underneath the castle. For years, he resides there with no company other than the – rather rude – guards that bring him his meals. Soon, though, he is visited by Prince Arthur. The Prince is an interesting young boy, nothing at all like his father or grandfather. But there’s more to this than what anyone could ever suspect…and only Merlin knows how things will play out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Okay guys. So, I have quite literally no flipping idea where this idea came at me from. But it hit me as I was going to bed this morning – at two a.m. – and I feel like I have to write it or else I’ll lose my mind. So I’m setting out to write it. I hope you guys enjoy this very first chapter and remember to leave a few comments at the end to tell me so.

Prologue

They were afraid of him. These silly humans were bloody terrified of him. Their fear amused him to no end, giving light to days that were sometimes as dark as the feathers on a raven. Still, their fear was always thinly masked by a cocky demeanor. These idiots believed that they’d bested him. They believed – and the very idea made him laugh so hard tears pooled in his eyes – that they had captured him so successfully that he would never escape. It was something else that amused him. How they could believe such a ridiculous thing was beyond even his mind. He was the strongest being on the planet. They could no sooner keep him caged than they could keep air caged. If he wanted to be free, all he would have to do is open his cell door and walk out. Of course, if he did that he would have to murder every living being in Camelot. Possibly every living being in the surrounding kingdoms as well. And he’d become rather fond of his keepers. Even if they were rude and cocky and annoying at times. 

Still, there was no logical reason that he should stay here. (Well, of course he had a reason. But it wasn’t yet time for that reason to be known.) Aside from the fact that being here was better than being out where he could get into trouble whenever he pleased, it seemed that there was no reason for him to stay. Gaius, one of the only men who was not a guard that was allowed into his chambers, had once asked him if he stayed only because he enjoyed the games he played with Uther. He couldn’t deny that it was rather true. Though at one time he had held no ill will towards Uther, Merlin now despised the current king with every fiber of his being. The cocky king loved coming into into Merlin’s chambers to taunt him. He would stand just outside of Merlin’s reach – Merlin was chained to the wall – and talk about the horrible things he and his father had done to Merlin’s people. Uther would often smile maliciously as he told the story of how Uther’s father had tortured and murdered Merlin’s own father. Uther, of course, had not witnessed the torture or the murder of Balinor but it had been described to him in such detail that he could tell the story and make Merlin’s brain remember things best forgotten. 

Balinor’s body had been hung for all to see in front of the gates of Camelot. Word had spread quickly and Merlin had rushed to Camelot – he couldn’t remember now where he’d been before that or even what he’d been doing – to see the body of his beloved father. Balinor’s death was the straw that broke the camel’s back so to speak. Uther’s father – Merlin didn’t bother to give him a name other than Coward – had already raped and murdered Merlin’s innocent mother. He’d stayed his hand after Hunith’s murder at Balinor’s request. When Balinor had been killed, however, there was no one left to stop him. There was no longer anyone left who knew just how powerful Merlin truly was. Oh, he was sure that some guessed at it. There were probably some among the druids who had guessed correctly about his power. But Merlin had no close friends to stop him from storming Camelot. 

Everyone believed that Uther’s father had simply bested Merlin. They believed – and wrongly so – that Merlin had been weak or tired at the end of the battle. They were wrong. Merlin had never intended to leave Camelot. Oh, when he’d first heard of Balinor’s murder, he’d fully intended to go to Camelot and destroy it. The kingdom would have been rubble by the time Merlin was finished with it. But, the night before he’d reached the kingdom, he’d had a vision. The vision – which was, of course, of the future – told him everything he needed to know. Someday, during Uther’s reign, there would be a Prince. Merlin didn’t know what his name would be but he’d seen blonde hair and blue eyes. He’d seen bravery and truth and light. The Prince would help Merlin to right the wrongs of the past. Even more amazing was the fact that the Prince would be the one to still Merlin’s restless soul and tame his wild heart. 

And so Merlin had allowed himself to be captured. They’d taken him down to this empty chamber below the castle, chained him to a wall. Uther’s father – who was dead now – had ordered guards posted at the door all day and all night. Three times a day a guard was sent in with a small tray of cold food for him. (Usually just bread and water.) It stayed that way for years. 

But there was another player that needed to be in his corner. Someone else to guide he and his nameless Prince. Gaius was his name, Merlin later found out. All he knew at first, though, was that he was the Court Physician and that he was an old man with long white hair and a knowing gaze. Merlin pretended to be ill, pretended that he was indeed dying, and Uther – who merely wanted to prolong Merlin’s suffering – called in Gaius. The old man was given free clearance to Merlin’s chambers. Uther either didn’t know that Gaius visited him still…or he didn’t care. Either way, Merlin found that he liked the old man. He was kind but stern and he was intelligent. Merlin could hold a decent conversation with the man without wanting to rip his brain from his head. 

They sat in Merlin’s chambers again. Merlin sat against the wall, food tray discarded, watching Gaius carefully. The old man was staring at him with wide eyes, obviously in shock at all Merlin had just told him. Merlin had never before told Gaius about his Prince. But the time had come for Gaius to bring them together and he had no choice. How else was Gaius supposed to carry out such a vital mission if he had no clue why he was even doing it? Besides, the only other reason Merlin had for keeping it secret was so that he could seem like a mysterious, ancient being. And Merlin was quickly growing tired of that façade. And so he’d told Gaius everything, after making certain that no one else would overhear them, of course. It wouldn’t do to have the King’s bloody little guards overhearing everything and ruining the whole damned plot.

“Have you lost your tongue, Gaius?” Merlin asked, eyes flicking to the man in front of him.

Gaius gave an exasperated sigh. He was long used to Merlin’s strange habit of revealing things all at once, of course. But this was rather big, wasn’t it? Merlin had just revealed that Prince Arthur – Uther’s bloody son Arthur – was going to help Merlin rid the world of a tyrant. So Merlin would just have to excuse him if he wasn’t a little bit shocked. 

“You can’t just throw something like that at me and not have me seize up shock for a moment, Merlin.” Gaius said at last.

“I’m afraid I had no other choice. I lost track of time, you see, and now time is of the essence. I’m on a strict timeline, you know. Certain things have to happen at a certain time. My first meeting with the Prince should be tomorrow at high noon. He’ll be bloody prat, of course, and I’ll be my charming self. We’ll fight a bit. That’ll last a few weeks. He’ll come ‘round during week four.” Merlin paused, conjuring a ball of blue light in his palm for something to look at before continuing, “Of course, if things don’t speed up…the Prince will already be king before anything of this comes to fruition and then he’ll die leaving me alone for an eternity. You see why this is a problem, don’t you?” 

Gaius groaned. “How do you know that Arthur’s going to be a prat?”

“So his name is Arthur?”

“You did not answer my question.”

“Oh. That. I know it because I’ve already seen part of our first meeting. I haven’t seen much but I’ve seen enough to assure me that Arthur is indeed a prat. I’ll have to reveal things to him far more carefully than I do with you, of course, because his pretty brain might explode if I do not. You have not, I realize, told me how you plan on getting Arthur down here tomorrow at high noon.”

Gaius gaped at him. “I’m supposed to do that? And how do you expect I do that?”

Merlin raised his eyebrows. “I wouldn’t know, would I? I’m the one locked away. It is you who must bring him to me. And quickly. The alternative is – and this is based on a vision in which you did not bring the Prince to me – that Arthur grows up and becomes king and dies at the hand of his sister’s man, leaving Albion in ruin and me alone. And trust me, when I am alone and heartbroken things tend to go downhill. I destroyed four villages after my mother’s murder alone. What do you expect would happen if I was in that state for the rest of eternity?”

Gaius paled considerably. He was by no means a stupid man. He’d heard the stories of Merlin’s past. Though Merlin was an incredibly kind man, he was also deeply flawed. Strong negative emotions made his sense of right and wrong cloudy. Villages had been destroyed, people killed, and terrible curses cast in this state. Should Merlin be left in that state for eternity…well Gaius hoped humanity was ready for a life of pain. Because that was exactly what was coming.

“All right. I’ll have him here at high noon tomorrow. Uther will have my head for this but I’ll do it.”

Merlin smiled. “If he even thinks of having your head, I’ll find my way out of these chains to prove why that would be a very bad idea. You are under my protection. Not his.”

Gaius wasn’t exactly sure if he was proud of being one of the few who Merlin cared for…or if he was horrified at what would become of Uther if he tested Merlin’s patience. The man who had raped and murdered Merlin’s mother – a knight named Sir Calloway who had only committed the crime because he had feared the king – had been driven mad by Merlin’s magic when Merlin had discovered who was behind it. No one was sure how he did it – and Sir Calloway was too busy drooling and shouting nonsense to tell them – but he’d taken every last shred of sanity from Sir Calloway’s mind. It was for this reason that he really did hope that Uther didn’t try and harm him for sending Arthur to Merlin.

As Gaius stood to leave, Merlin spoke once more. “You might talk to the boy a bit before you send him to me. Tell him…tell him that not everything is as it seems. Tell him that not all legends are true.”

Gaius smiled. “I think I shall also tell him that you’re always terribly cryptic.”

Merlin waved a hand dismissively. “I won’t need to be cryptic with my Prince. He’s the other half in this mad plot…he’ll need to know everything I know, of course.”

Gaius looked very much like he would like to say something else. Instead, he smiled at Merlin once more before leaving the chambers. The guards locked it securely behind them and glared at Gaius as they always did when he came or left. Gaius ignored this and headed back to his own chambers where he began to practice magic for the first time in twenty years. He knew just how he would bring Arthur and Merlin together…


	2. Arthur

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. Just wanted to make sure this was perfect. First chapter is through Arthur's point of view. Hope you guys like it. :)

Chapter One  
Arthur

Arthur had been summoned to Gaius’ quarters. The young prince was slightly confused but he’d always liked the old physician and so he answered the call without much thought to it. The old man was in the main room of his quarters, sitting at a table with one of his cloaks. Arthur thought that this was a bit odd but said nothing about it as he too sat down. Gaius smiled at him though the old man looked nervous. Why was Gaius nervous? In all his life, he’d never seen the man nervous. Gaius was always confident and calm, the picture of a perfect servant. (Though Gaius was treated far better than any of the rest of his father’s servants.) Anything that could make Gaius nervous was cause for worry, of course, and Arthur knew that it would have to be dealt with quickly. The fact that Gaius had come directly to Arthur meant that he didn’t want Uther involved. Which was absolutely fine, of course, because Arthur was almost always looking for reasons to keep his life private from his father. That included going on missions that his father most likely wouldn’t approve of. And something told Arthur that Uther wasn’t going to approve of whatever mission Gaius was sending him on. (Because it was a mission, he knew. Gaius would have asked his father to send Arthur to him if it had been anything but.)

“Gaius? What’s the matter?” Arthur asked.

“Before I tell you anything, I should warn you that this tale does not portray your father or grandfather in a very positive light.”

Arthur raised his eyebrows. “There’s not much that can actually do that, you know. Father and grandfather aren’t the…nicest of men.”

“I’m glad you realize that. Now, to the story. Do you know that, hidden in a chamber under the castle, there is a man locked away in a chamber?”

Arthur knew this. Uther had bragged that his father had captured the infamous Emrys. The sorcerer was supposedly the most dangerous being on the planet. He’d been subdued by chains that were supposed to keep him from using magic and he was locked away where no one could get to him. He hadn’t known that Gaius was aware of Emrys being locked away, however. That was news.

“Of course. Father’s spoken to me about him. How do you know he even exists? It doesn’t seem like the sort of thing that father would tell you.”

“He didn’t want to. But Merlin – he prefers his given name over Emrys unless he’s been angered – was sick. I actually think he was pretending to be sick now but that is beside the point. Uther wanted to prolong his suffering and so he sent for me. I was…captivated by the warlock and I kept visiting him.”

“He’s dangerous, Gaius.” Arthur said quietly, worried that one of his favorite servants would be in danger.

Gaius smiled. “I will not deny that. But Merlin is only dangerous to those who have wronged him. I have never wronged him or those he cares about. In any case, I am quite safe when I visit Merlin.”

“Why have you called me here, Gaius? What mission are you giving to me?” Arthur asked, getting straight to the point.

“You need to travel down to Merlin’s chamber and visit with him. There are things he must tell you, things you need to know. He is not a danger to you, Arthur. Merlin has seen the future and he knows what must happen to ensure that Albion is united and that the old ways are brought back.”

“He’ll kill me on sight.”

“He’s given me his word that he’ll not do that. And Merlin doesn’t do that unless he truly means it. You are meant to help him, Arthur.”

Arthur considered this. On one hand, to do this would probably ensure that his father banished him from the kingdom if he ever found out. On the other hand, doing this may also ensure that Arthur became a better king than Uther. He didn’t even really have to weigh his options. He would travel down to the chamber below the castle and speak with this Merlin character. His father was a tyrant. As much as he’d once loved his father, Arthur knew that his father was beyond hope. Uther was a horrid king and Arthur would ensure that he was ten times the king Uther ever had been.

“Very well. I suppose you’ve got a plan to get me past the guards?”

“Of course I do. Merlin entrusted me with task of getting you down there and I intend to succeed. He has never asked me for a thing. Not once. Even though he knew I could provide him with more comfort once in a while. This is the first time he’s asked anything of me, you see, and I plan on carrying this task out with care.”

“Very well. What is your plan?”

“I need you to slip on this cloak. I have placed a spell on this cloak that will make the guards think you are me. Wear it every time you pass them to visit Merlin and you will be granted entry every time without question. I’ll warn you, Merlin is a rather snarky fellow. He will most certainly not treat you like everyone else in this castle does. You must earn his respect, his trust. Once you have, though, I promise you that you will not regret it.”

“Basically, you are saying that he will not respect me or trust me right away.”

“Correct. With Merlin, those things must be earned.”

“Very well.”

Arthur took the cloak and slipped it on. Better to have it on before leaving Gaius’ quarters. Everyone would think that he was Gaius on another errand and no one would question him. Gaius smiled at him, patted his shoulder, and then directed him to the door. Arthur walked briskly down the stairs that led to Emrys’ chamber. There were two guards in front of it. They glared at him – obviously seeing Gaius or they’d have been blushing and tripping over themselves to get him away from there – but allowed him entry. 

Inside, Merlin stood against one wall. He had short, messy black hair and blue eyes. His cheekbones looked as though they were carved from marble and he wore an amused expression. The Prince and the Sorcerer stared at each other, sizing each other up carefully. When Merlin spoke, his voice was smooth and calm. 

“Discard the cloak, Prince. You have no need of it in here. No one will enter here unless I allow them to.”

“I have a name you know.” Arthur was unable to stop himself from saying.

Merlin smiled. “I know that. But I have spent so many years not knowing your name that I have grown used to calling you Prince. Discard the cloak, Arthur. You do not need it.”

“What is it you want, Emrys?” Merlin’s second name fell out of his lips too easily.

Merlin’s eyes narrowed at first and fear – yes, even a Prince knows the feeling of fear – bubbled in Arthur’s chest. He wondered idly if this was a mistake. Maybe Merlin would kill him now just for using that name. But the Sorcerer’s face cleared quickly, a jovial grin replacing the narrowed eyed suspicion that been there only moments before. 

“Haven’t heard that name in ages. Is that what Uther is calling me now?”

“I don’t believe he knows any other name.” Arthur said.

Merlin’s eyes rolled. “Of course he knows the name Merlin. He doesn’t call me Emrys to my face, you know. There would be consequences for that.”

Arthur was the suspicious one now. “Consequences for calling you by one of your given names?”

He was confused. Why did Merlin think it a sign of disrespect for someone to call him Emrys? It was his given name, after all. For a moment, Arthur believed that he himself had insulted or disrespected the warlock by asking the question. But Merlin’s smile remained in place, his eyes twinkled almost merrily. 

“Of course. Only those that show me respect are allowed to call me by that name to my face. Emrys is the name given to me by the Druids. They’ve always shown me respect, of course. It is the name of a powerful warlock. It is not a name to be thrown about in disrespect.”

Arthur raised an eyebrow. “What could you possibly do to Father? You’re chained to a bloody wall with cuffs that suppress whatever magic you possess.”

Merlin laughed, startling Arthur. Was this man insane? How could he possibly laugh at being chained to a wall with magic suppression cuffs? Arthur watched him as he laughed so hard that tears ran down his cheeks. When Merlin had finally settled again, he was watching Arthur carefully. With a very deliberate smile, Merlin’s eyes flashed golden and a small ball of light appeared in his palm. To say that Arthur was astounded was the understatement of the century. It was supposed to be impossible for Merlin to use magic. But here he was, using it right before Arthur’s eyes. If he could use magic…what else could he do?

“How?” was the only word Arthur could get out.

“Do you really think a set of cuffs could keep the most powerful being in existence chained? I could be out of here whenever I pleased.”

Now Arthur was really confused. “Then why are you still here? If you can leave at any time, why stay chained to a wall?”

“You may as well sit down. In order to tell you that, I may as well tell you the story behind my capture.”

Arthur sat on the floor in front of Merlin and waited for him to begin. Merlin sat down as well, slipping the cuffs off as he sat. Arthur wondered how often Merlin took the cuffs off without his father’s knowledge. Still, Arthur was curious enough about how Merlin had been captured to not care about the cuffs right at that moment. 

“This happened during your grandfather’s reign, long before you were even thought of. I’d gained some notoriety in Camelot by directly opposing most of your grandfather’s views on magic. I was powerful and cunning and he could never attack me directly, though. He knew this very well. Still, he tried attacking me directly. Every time he sent men after me, I killed them without so much as breaking a sweat. And so he resorted to attacking my family. He first sent one of his knights, a man by the name of Sir Calloway, to rape and kill my mother. My mother, I’ll add, had no magic. She was an ordinary, innocent woman. She and I hadn’t seen each other in weeks because I’d been traveling with my father. I returned home just in time to see Sir Calloway strike the killing blow.”

“What did you do to him?” Arthur asked quietly when Merlin paused. 

“Drove him mad with my magic. To my knowledge, he roams the streets still shouting nonsense and drooling. People call him Crazy Calloway.”

“That’s…. He did that to your mother?” 

Arthur knew the man in question. It was hard not to. Crazy Calloway was a beggar who roamed the streets. He shouted at nothing, drooled, and told anyone who would listen that he was a knight of Camelot. Arthur had always believed that the man was simply crazy…but now he knew the truth. Calloway had been a knight. More, his father had lied to him. Uther had always told him that Calloway was nothing more than a beggar, a lost soul to be pitied. Anger burned in Arthur’s chest. How cruel had his family been? He focused once more on Merlin’s story, wanting to know just what his father and grandfather had done to the man in front of him. (Because Arthur could see that, despite what his father had told him, Merlin was a man.)

“I wanted to storm Camelot right then. Kill everyone and everything inside these walls. But my father told me to wait. There would be time for that later, he said. Six months later, I was traveling alone when news spread that my father had been captured and murdered. They told me that his body had been hung for all to see in front of Camelot’s gates. My father, mind you, was a dragonlord. He commanded the great creatures that soared above. He possessed no other magic. Furthermore, my father hated conflict. He would not have, as your grandfather told everyone, attacked Camelot. It was not in his nature. I set out for Camelot, ready to destroy this entire kingdom. I camped for a night…and as I slept, I had a vision of the future. In that vision, I saw…you.”

Arthur’s eyes widened. “Me? How on earth could you have seen me? What do I have to do with all of this?”

“Yes, I saw you. I knew that the vision took place far in the future and most of it took place here. In this room, in Camelot. I won’t give you all of the details just yet, Arthur, but I will tell you that you are to be the king who unites all of Albion. With me at your side, you will create a kingdom like no other.”

Arthur decided to take this at face value. Gaius had said that Merlin could be trusted and Arthur knew for a fact he could trust Gaius. And so Merlin had to be telling the truth. Arthur was meant to have this warlock at his side. He still had one question, though.

“How does all of this relate to your capture?”

Merlin smiled. “I knew I had to stay in Camelot. I couldn’t destroy it and then leave as I had once planned. So I allowed your grandfather to capture me. He bragged about it constantly, of course. And your bloody father is even worse.”

“Father…visits you?” 

“Of course he does. He likes to make sure I’m well aware that he’s in control now. Your grandfather told him the stories in great detail and Uther makes it a point to brag about it. Sometimes, I imagine breaking my chains right in front of him and destroying him.”

“What stops you? Surely a vision can’t override your hate for my father…”

Merlin smiled at him and Arthur felt something in his stomach contract. It wasn’t a bad feeling…just odd. After a moment of silence, Merlin spoke again.

“The idea that this land could someday become a safe haven for people like myself keeps me here. My father fought for people with magic. It was his dream that we could someday have peace. Fulfilling that dream is important to me, Arthur.”

Arthur could certainly understand that. Though he’d never before done anything that could potentially anger his father, Arthur knew that he would help Merlin. He’d never truly made his own opinion about magic. This was his chance to do just that. Arthur would be the one to decide if he believed magic to be evil…or not. He turned to Merlin after another moment and grinned.

“I’m in.”


End file.
